Galloway’s wants to thank Thomas Pocklington Trust for its £10,000 grant which will go
towards the sight loss charity's Talking Together project.
The new service allows blind and partially sighted people across Lancashire and Sefton to dial into a teleconferencing system to chat with their friends. Sight loss advisors lead the sessions, inviting guest speakers or hosting quizzes.
In addition, sight loss advisors will ring service users who have requested a regular call to provide extra support advice or a friendly ear.
The grant money will also be used to recruit and refer volunteers onto other organisations like Sightline.
Rachel Watkinson, Head of Services at Galloway’s, said: “We are extremely grateful to Thomas Pocklington Trust for the grant as it will help us deliver vital services for people living with sight loss.
“It allows us to continue to run our telephone support and advice service so people know where to go for further help and they know they have a trusted friend looking out for them.
“We are able to keep people up to date with the latest information from eye clinics and how to access digital and audio cyber groups.
”We are also able to keep people informed about local services they could access in addition to Galloway’s.
“We know people are missing their friends at the regular social groups, so we have set up regular Talking Together group phone calls. This has been a great success with everyone saying how much they enjoy it.
“This ongoing support enables people with sight loss to feel more emotionally resilient, less isolated and better connected to what is happening in their local area.”
Charles Colquhoun, CEO of Thomas Pocklington Trust, said: “Blind and partially sighted people are even more likely to feel isolated during lockdown and so it is important charities like Galloway’s are able to continue delivering services.
“We are really impressed with how Galloway’s has adapted its way of working to reach out to one of the most vulnerable groups in the community. We hope this grant will go a long way to building on that support.”
To read how other organisations have supported Galloway's click here: https://www.galloways.org.uk/post/community-foundations-for-lancashire-and-merseyside-award-10-000-to-galloway-s
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